Golf tee



' E. MAYL April 4, 1939.

GOLF TEE Filed Sept. 16, 1937 Patented Apr. 4, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE 1 Claim.

This invention relates to golf tees and blanks therefor, said tees being made from stiff cardboard like material.

Attempts have been made to provide a golf tee of cardboard like material wherein each blank was composed of a pair of separable sections which could be torn apart and assembled with the sections crossing each other and adapted to rest flat on the ground to support a golf ball. Any such arrangement is defective because of the great infrequency of finding a level spot of ground on which to rest the device and because, being very light, a breeze of any ordinary velocity blows the device out of position unless great care is taken to hold it in place while teeing up the ball.

One principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel tee of cardboard like material having a pointed portion insertable in the ground to hold the tee erectly in place thus avoiding the necessity of finding a level piece of ground and eliminating the possibility of the device being blown out of position.

A second important object of the invention is to provide a device of this character so constructed and arranged that the golf ball placed on the tee will be engaged by sharp corners of the sections of blank forming the tee.

A third important object of the invention is to provide a pointed tee forming blank made from cardboard like material and having the point longitudinally ribbed for the purpose of ensuring stiffness when inserting such point in the ground.

With the above and other objects in view as will be hereinafter apparent, the invention consists in general of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and specifically claimed.

In the accompanying drawing like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, and:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View. of a series of teeforming blanks constructed in accordance with this invention and assembled in book-like 'form.

Fig. 2 is a perspective View showing a tee forming blank with its two sections assembled in position to receive a golf ball.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of one leaf of the book shown in Fig. l by showing a slight modification thereof.

Fig. 4 is a plan viewof one tee forming blank as disclosed in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing a further modification.

Fig. 6 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of Fig. 5.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4 there is illustrated a tee forming blank having a lower section It] and an uppersection i l. The lower section III includes a body 52 having parallel side edges and an acutely tapered point l3 depending from said body, the point having its lower end or tip detachably attached to a base portion or strip M in parallelism to other like blanks along a weakened or tear line l5. Extending in from the side edges of the blank are oppositely disposed triangular notches [6 having basal edges l1 forming the outer top edges of the section It]. The upper edges I8 of these notches converged downwardly to form the outer and upper portions of the bottom edges of the section I I. Slits l9 form downward continuations of the edges l8. A lozenge shaped hole 20 is provided between the sections Ill and II and has its longer diagonal coincident with the longitudinal median line of the blank. The lower side edges of this opening are aligned with the slits l9 and weakened lines 2| connect the slits 20 with the lateral angles of the hole. As shown at the left of Fig. 3, the construction just described provides upon separation or sections Ill and H with a V-shaped notch 22 in its upper end and aligned upper edges intersecting the sides of the notch at sharply defined angles 23. Similarly the upper end of the section II is provided with a V-shaped notch 24 in its upper end and with lateral aligned top edge portions 25 intersecting the sides of the notch 2 5 to form sharply defined angles 26.

In the form particularly shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4 the construction is identical with that just described except that the point is provided with a stamped out rib 2! extending longitudinally along the median line of the point.

In both of these forms the section I2 is provided with a slot 28 extending centrally down the point from the hole 20 .and a similar slot as extends upwardly from the hole 20 in the section I i.

In the form shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the blank comprises a lower section 30 and an upper section 3|, the lower section being shown as having a point 32 provided with a rib 33. Intermediate the sections the blank is provided with a lozenge shaped opening or hole 34 of considerably larger size than the opening 20, the opening 34 being of suflicient size to form V-shaped notches of substantially the same size as the notches 22 and 24 upon the sections being separated. Extending. laterally from the lateral angles of the opening 34 are slits 35 and the sections are connected by weakened or tear portions 36 forming continuations of slits 35. This arrangement provides sharply defined angles as most clearly shown in Fig. 6. The upper end of the section 3| is the same in shape as the lower end of section I I, having inclined side edges 38, a central notch 39 and. a slot 40. Section 30 also has a slot 4| corresponding to slot 28.

Preferably the blanks are arranged in sets of 6 attached to a single base portion and three, of these base portions are assembled in a book to provide for sufiicient tees for eighteen holes. A wrapper or cover 42 is arranged around the book of three sheets and has its bottom edge turned over as at 43 to constitute a tear guide for separating the blanks from the base portions, OI'dir nary wire fasteners 44 being used to hold the cover and leaf bases together.

In use each blank is removed from its base and the sections separated. The slots in the sections are then brought into confronting alignment with the sections in planes at right angles to each other and pushed together in cruciform relation. The tee is now formed and the point may be inserted in the ground and the ball teed up.

There has thus been provided a simple and. eflicient device of the kind described and for the purpose specified.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention Without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is not, therefore, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed.

Having thus, described the invention, what is claimed as new, is:

A blank for a golf ball tee comprising a strip of stiff cardboard-like material having a base portion, a tee forming section attached to the upper edge of the base, said tee forming section having an elongated V-shaped lower ground engaging portion formed by side edges converging to a blunt point, the pointed end forming the connection. with the base, and a second tee forming section attached to the first section by weakened lines, the two, sections having slots constructed and arranged for cruciform engagement of the sections with each other, said pointed portion having alreinforcing. rib struck. from the material of the section and extending longitudinally of the median line ofv the pointed portion.

EDWARD MAY'L. 

